On schedule to cash in? Cleveland Cavaliers' long homestand just another NBA strategy to maximize profits

Tracy Boulian / The Plain DealerAfter playing 27 of their first 48 games on the road this season, Anthony Parker, LeBron James and the Cavaliers are looking forward to this lengthy homestand that won see another road game until Feb. 19.

CAVALIERS HOMESTANDAfter Sunday's victory over the Clippers, the Cavaliers have six more games at The Q before heading to Charlotte on Feb. 19.• Tuesday, vs. Memphis• Thursday, vs. Miami• Saturday, vs. New York• Feb. 9, vs. New Jersey• Feb. 11, vs. Orlando• Feb. 18, vs. Denver

CAVALIERS VS. GRIZZLIESTipoff: Tuesday, 7 p.m. at The Q.TV/radio: FS Ohio; WTAM AM/1100.Notable: Cavaliers have won a season-high eight straight and are 19-3 at home. This is the second in seven straight home games. ... At 38-11, Cavs lead the league with a 7.1 point differential and 43.2 defensive field goal percentage. ... Cavs have won five straight in Cleveland against the Grizzlies, but lost the last matchup, 111-109, when former Ohio State star Mike Conley made a layup with three seconds left in overtime on Dec. 8. ... Memphis is 7-3 in its last 10 but had lost two straight heading into Monday night’s home game against the Lakers. ... Delonte West (fractured left ring finger) is listed as day-to-day, but coach Mike Brown said Monday it was unlikely West would play. Also, Danny Green, who had to be helped to his car after getting clobbered by Al Thornton in Sunday’s victory over the Clippers, said he thought he would be able to play. ... Mo Williams (sprained left shoulder) and Leon Powe (left knee surgery) remain out. For the Grizzlies, Darrell Arthur (right pectoralis surgery) is out. — Mary Schmitt Boyer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The suitcases have been put away, the fridges have finally been fully stocked and the Cavaliers' various road jerseys have been stuck in the back of the equipment room.

The Cavs are at the start of the mother of all homestands, their longest in 15 years and, in terms of days, the longest in team history. Tuesday the Cavs play the second game, against the Memphis Grizzlies, of a seven-game homestand. Because of a number of off days and the All-Star break, the Cavs will go a record 20 days between road games.

"When the schedule came out I did wish that things were a little more balanced," coach Mike Brown said. "But after everything we've been through, now I'm glad to be home for three weeks."

This stretch, especially in the number of days, once was rare. But it seems to be part of a unannounced league-wide trend this season.

The Phoenix Suns had a seven-game homestand earlier this season. The Golden State Warriors have home for six and seven consecutive games. The Miami Heat have a six-game homestand and so did the Charlotte Bobcats. There are more examples, too.

Simply, this is not normal. Some teams have moderately lopsided schedules every year because their home arenas are in use for major winter events. The Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers are both finishing long road trips because Staples Center has been out of commission for several weeks to host the Grammy Awards.

The San Antonio Spurs are just about to embark on their annual "rodeo trip" because the livestock arrives at the AT&T Center in February. Every November the Chicago Bulls are sent away for two weeks so the circus can play.

But long road trips are part of the NBA, the long homestands are new. Some of it is a scheduling quirk, but much of it could be due to the economic pressure on teams this season.

Renjun Bao, an engineer who teaches at Cleveland State, has examined this process deeply. Last year he got his doctorate in Industrial Engineering at Cleveland State and his thesis was "Time-relaxed round-robin tournament and National Basketball Association scheduling problem."

In short, Bao is an expert in mass scheduling and using computers to help in the outrageously complex process. His work, he said, was the first major research done on the topic involving the NBA since 1977.

"There are many factors involved, some of them are subjective," said Bao, who also works with a professor at Carnegie Mellon University on the Major League Baseball schedule each year.

"Given the current economic condition, teams are putting having weekend home games first instead of worrying about road trip arrangement."

Weekend games are often in the highest demand. Because some teams are having trouble selling tickets, maximizing the amount of weekend games affects the way schedules are made. Teams are willing to have schedules with extended road trips as a tradeoff to get the most home games possible on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays.

As a result, teams seem to have groups of home games arranged so they can take advantage of multiple weekends.

On the Cavs' current homestand, three games are prime TNT Thursday broadcasts against high-profile opponents. Two others are on the weekend, which makes this a desirable homestand to be sure.

Every March, teams supply a list of around 60 possible home dates for the 41 home games in the upcoming season. Then it falls on NBA senior vice president Matt Winick to sort it all out. It is a daunting process to schedule the 1,230 regular-season games and also satisfy demands of television as well at the heavy use of 29 arenas in the winter.

Winick's job is both demanding and often thankless.

TNT, ESPN and ABC want high-profile games throughout the season. Also for much of the year, TNT owns exclusivity on Thursday nights and ABC on Sunday afternoons. No other games can be played at those times to maximize the national ratings.

But there are other rules. Teams can't play an afternoon game if they played a night game before. The NBA doesn't want to conflict with most NFL games or the BCS National Championship. The Utah Jazz, because of the strong religious fan base, will not play Sunday home games.

"Even the best computer cannot solve the problem of such size," Bao said. "It's very complicated. There are so many constraints that I couldn't list all of them."

For the time being, the Cavaliers are on the home end of things. So they aren't doing any complaining.

"It is going to be good for us," LeBron James said. "We've been a very good home team."

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